Stella natalis is a
work in twelve movements by Karl Jenkins celebrating different aspects of Christmastide - winter, the sleeping child, tidings of peace, thanksgiving - with words ranging from the psalms to new texts by Carol Barratt.
Thursday 8 December at 8pm Saturday 10 December at 1pm Sunday 11 December at 1pm
Sydney Opera House Concert Hall
Image credit: Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
The world has entered a “new normal”, so many habits you took for
granted have changed. But the tradition of Sydney Philharmonia Choirs'
biennial Messiah holds fast – a musical anchor to the concert season.
Handel’s Messiah, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, 2022.
Since 1742, when it was premiered in Dublin, Handel’s Messiah has never left the repertoire. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs has been performing it for nearly a hundred years. With its stirring choruses and sublime solos, and its dramatic expression of faith, Handel’s great oratorio stands as a beacon in the concert calendar – an event to look forward to.
And after a season of singing together again, all SPC choirs will be joining forces in December for what is its finest, most definitive, performance of Messiah yet. From VOX and the Chamber Singers to Symphony Chorus and the community of singers in the annual Christmas Chorus, SPC look forward to singing its favourite Handel oratorio. The energy of Messiah.
Images Credit: Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
ARTISTS
Brett Weymark conductor Lorina Gore soprano Ashlyn Tymms mezzo-soprano Nicholas Jones tenor Morgan Pearse baritone Symphony Chorus
Chamber Singers
VOX
Christmas Choir
Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra
PROGRAM
Deborah CHEETHAM & Matthew DOYLE Tarimi Nulay – Long time living here* George Frideric HANDEL Messiah
* Commissioned for our 100 Minutes of New Australian Music project
A digital program book will be available to download on this page a
week prior to the concert. A limited number of printed program books
will be available for $5 each at the concert.
TICKETS
Premium $124 | A $101 | B $79 | C $58 | D $45 Concessions $112 | A $90| B $71 | C $52 | D $41
A booking fee of $8.50 per transaction applies
Reviews:
Handel: Messiah (Sydney Philharmonia Choirs). Conducted by Brett Weymark, "Handel's Messiah shines a fresh light after the dark months of the pandemic." 4.5 STARS! Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. Reviewed by Steve Moffatt on 9 Dec, 2022.
SYDNEY PHILHARMONIA CHOIRS – MESSIAH @ SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE. Reviewed by Paul Nolan on 11 December, 2022. Sydney Arts Guide. "Weymark has thrown down an oratorio gauntlet to ensure our
entertainment. His dynamic interpretation and harnessing of the 600 plus
choir, the orchestra emitting a crisp accompaniment and soloists pitted
against all forces from their challenging spot mid stage were
breathtaking elements in this version."
All SPC singers, musicians and staff are double vaccinated.
Audiences at the Sydney Opera House are strongly encouraged to wear
masks while inside the foyers and Concert Hall, including during the
performance. If this changes, we will inform patrons as soon as
possible.
The Sydney Opera House has a well-maintained and effective air-conditioning system to maximise ventilation with fresh air.
The Sydney Opera House regularly cleans high-traffic and high-touch areas with hospital-grade disinfectant.
Hand sanitiser stations with aloe vera gel are available in paths of
travel, frequently accessed areas and near bathroom facilities.
Sydney Opera House staff have COVID-19 safety training.
A digital program book will be available to download on this page a
week prior to the concert. A limited number of printed program books
will be available for $5 each at the concert.
A brief biography of Johann Strauss II, Austrian composer and conductor, known as "The Waltz King", his waltzes rich in melody and charm.
Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), is also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (German: Sohn). He was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas and a
ballet.
His most famous of all waltzes, 'TheBlue Danube' was originally entitled 'On the Beautiful Blue Danube', and first performed with verses. Whatever this master of light music set his hand to, the same graceful and elegant Viennese mood of melody shine through. Strauss's other key works include: waltzes 'Roses from the South' and 'Emperor', operetta 'Die Fledermaus' and 'A night in Venice', among others
In his lifetime, he was known as "The Waltz King", and was largely responsible for the popularity of the waltz in Vienna during the 19th century. Some of Johann Strauss's most famous works include "The Blue Danube", "Kaiser-Walzer" (Emperor Waltz), "Tales from the Vienna Woods", "Frühlingsstimmen", and the "Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka". Among his operettas, Die Fledermaus and Der Zigeunerbaron are the best known.
Strauss was the son of Johann Strauss I and his first wife Maria Anna Streim. Two younger brothers, Josef and Eduard Strauss, also became composers of light music, although they were never as well known as their brother.
Below, enjoy Johann Strauss II's "The Blue Danube Waltz Op 314". YouTube, uploaded by Lifting Dreams. Accessed October 25, 2022. With paintings slideshow.
'The Blue Danube' is the common English title of 'An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314' (German for "By the Beautiful Blue Danube"), a waltz by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, composed in 1866. (Johann Strauss II has no relation to composer Richard Strauss, famous for symphonic tone poem Also Sprach Zarathustra.)
Glorious Puccini: Messa di Gloria & Opera Highlights
Date: Saturday 29 October | 8pm
Venue: Sydney Opera House Concert Hall
Experience the passion and power of Puccini's music sung by Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' 300-voice Festival Chorus choristers, four of Australia's star soloists and the talented musicians of The Sydney Youth Orchestra .
Image credit: Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
How do we love Puccini? Let us count the ways…
There’s his sense of drama and his concern for human stories and real emotion but, above all, we love the glorious, flowing melodies that stay in your ears long after the curtain comes down. We love the sensuousness of Manon Lescaut, the grand tragedy of Tosca, the heart-rending pathos of Madama Butterfly – guaranteed to bring tears to your eyes – and the mystery of Turandot. This is the Puccini we know and love, and for this gala concert, Brett Weymark has assembled highlights to showcase the 400 voices of the
Festival Chorus and our soloists – stars of the operatic stage. We’ll be joined by the Sydney Youth Orchestra in full force – performing Puccini’s colourful orchestrations without compromise.
But first we’ll be revealing a little-known side of Puccini. He might have decided upon a career as an opera composer at the age of 18 – inspired by Verdi’s Aida – but he came from a long line of
church musicians and the culmination of his musical studies was the ambitious Messa di Gloria. This rarely heard mass setting hints at the opera composer to come, with generous melodies and the way he brings drama to the ritual. But, above all, it’s 40 minutes of high-octane choral singing – joyous, dancing and, yes, fun!
Credit: Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
PROGRAM
Deborah CHEETHAM & Matthew DOYLE Tarimi Nulay – Long time living here* Giacomo PUCCINI Messa di Gloria Highlights from Puccini operas…
Manon Lescaut: Intermezzo
Tosca: Te Deum (Tre sbirri, una carrozza)
Madama Butterfly: Humming Chorus and other highlights from Act II
Turandot: Nessun dorma and other highlights
* Commissioned for our 100 Minutes of New Australian Music project
A digital program book will be available on this page a week prior to
the concert. A limited number of printed program books will be
available for $5 each at the concert.
ARTISTS
Brett Weymark conductor Cheryl Barker soprano Antoinette Halloran soprano Bradley Daley tenor Peter Coleman-Wright baritone Festival Chorus Sydney Youth Orchestra
TICKETS
Premium $124 | A $101 | B $79 | C $58 | D $45 Concessions $112 | A $90| B $71 | C $52 | D $41
A booking fee of $8.50 per transaction applies.
All SPC singers, musicians and staff are double vaccinated.
Audiences will be required to wear masks throughout the performance. If this changes we will inform patrons as soon as possible.
Hand sanitiser will be available.
A digital program book will be available on this page a week prior
to the concert. A limited number of printed program books will be
available for $5 each at the concert.
Saturday, 17 September 8pm, 2022 Sydney Opera House Concert Hall
When the pandemic sent Sydney Philharmonia Choirs into isolation, the world
saw a flood of multi-tracked videos as musicians, desperate to perform
together, formed ensembles online. But Eric Whitacre got there first
with his Virtual Choir of 2010 – 185 singers meticulously edited
together for a video performance of Lux Aurumque that has reached
millions. Since then, he’s become a virtual rock star of contemporary
choral music and on his previous visit to Sydney he filled the Opera
House Concert Hall with fans.
In 2022 he returns to conduct the Sydney premiere of his latest major choral work, The Sacred Veil.
It’s a collaboration with American poet Charles Anthony Silvestri,
telling a story of love, loss and the search for solace. And although
the personal inspiration at its core is the death of Silvestri’s wife,
this intimate and compelling score follows a very human – and very
relatable – journey.
Photo Credit: Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
“The Sacred Veil is a story for us all,” says
Whitacre, “everyone has a place of pain that we can hardly bear to
touch” and it taps into the way music – and especially singing – can
help us grieve and heal.
From the “light and gold” of Lux Aurumque to
this newest work, Whitacre’s music brings us shimmering harmonies,
luxurious sonorities, searing intensity – and what better place to hear
it than in the secular cathedral that is the Sydney Opera House.
PROGRAM
Deborah CHEETHAM & Matthew DOYLE Tarimi Nulay – Long time living here* Eric WHITACRE
Lux Aurumque (Light and Gold)
Sainte-Chapelle
The Sacred Veil** Texts by Charles Anthony Silvestri
* Commissioned for our 100 Minutes of New Australian Music project
** Sydney premiere
ARTISTS
Eric Whitacre conductor Elizabeth Scottconductor (Tarimi Nulay – Long time living here) Julian Smiles cello Claire Howard Race piano VOX
Sydney Philharmonia VOX. Photo Credit: SPC
The Sacred Veil was commissioned by the Los Angeles Master
Chorale, Grant Gershon – Artistic Director, Monash Academy of Performing
Arts – MLIVE Melbourne and NTR ZaterdagMatinee for the Netherlands
Radio Choir.
The performance will run for approximately 70 minutes. No interval.
A digital program book will be available to download on this page a
week prior to the concert. A limited number of printed program books
will be available for $5 each at the concert.
TICKETS
Premium $124 | A $101 | B $79 | C $58 | D $45 | $30 for Under 30s* Concessions:Premium $112 | A $90 | B $71 | C $52 | D $41
A booking fee of $8.50 per transaction applies
*Limited seats. Conditions apply.
Eric Whitacre's Sacred Veil. Youtube. 20 October 2021. Jonathan Talberg, Conductor. Gukhui Han, Piano. Raymond Newell, Cello. The Bob Cole Chamber Choir from CSULB. Accessed 24 August 2022.
Resources:
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs: The Sacred Veil: Eric Whitacre Conducts. Limelight. Accessed 24 August 2022.
The Sacred Veil: Eric Whitacre Conducts. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs 2022 Season Calendar at a Glance. Accessed 24 August 2021.
IMPORTANT COVID-19 SAFETY INFORMATION
(Note from Sydney Philharmonia Choirs)
COVID-19 SAFETY AT OUR CONCERTS
All SPC singers, musicians and staff are double vaccinated.
Audiences at the Sydney Opera House are strongly encouraged to wear
masks while inside the foyers and Concert Hall, including during the
performance. If this changes, we will inform patrons as soon as
possible.
The Sydney Opera House has a well-maintained and effective air-conditioning system to maximise ventilation with fresh air.
The Sydney Opera House regularly cleans high-traffic and high-touch areas with hospital-grade disinfectant.
Hand sanitiser stations with aloe vera gel are available in paths of
travel, frequently accessed areas and near bathroom facilities.
Sydney Opera House staff have COVID-19 safety training.
A digital program book will be available to download on this page a
week prior to the concert. A limited number of printed program books
will be available for $5 each at the concert.
The past two years have taken their toll – suffering, grief, the isolation of lockdown, the anxiety of opening up.
Now, perhaps more than ever, we need the music of Pēteris Vasks, a composer who believes music shouldn’t “tell how awful things are, how bad the world is, how bad people are” but instead “how beautiful the world is, how beautiful people’s souls are”. Vasks’ music taps into our desire for beauty and for hope – even in its more anguished moments, it remains comforting, speaking to the soul with sounds more powerful than words.
In this concert we perform two musical prayers – the beautiful and moving Pater noster (Our Father) and an ecstatic cry for peace, Dona nobis pacem. These alternate with two Australian works: the optimism of Maria Lopes’ My Life Flows On
and Stuart Greenbaum’s thought-provoking collaboration with poet Ross Baglin – juxtaposing a penthouse celebrity function with the burning of a museum in the streets below. And at the heart of the program is Vasks’ majestic setting of the mass – sometimes sombre, sometimes gentle, sometimes animated, as if sung by “happy little angels”.
If you love the music of Arvo Pärt or Henryk Gorecki, then you’ll recognise the spirit of “holy minimalism” in Vasks’ music. At the same time, his radiant style is completely his own – unapologetically tonal and drawing on the choral traditions of his Latvian culture.
Join the Chamber Singers in St Andrew’s Cathedral for two hours of sanctuary in a troubled world.
About the composer: Pēteris Vasks (born 16 April 1946) is a Latvian composer born in Aizpute, Latvia. He trained as a violinist, as a double-bass player with Vitautas Sereikaan, and played in several Latvian orchestras before entering the State Conservatory in Vilnius in the neighboring Lithuania to study composition with Valentin Utkin. He started to become known outside Latvia in the 1990s, when Gidon Kremer started championing his works and now is one of the most influential and praised European contemporary composers.
PROGRAM
Deborah CHEETHAM & Matthew DOYLE Tarimi Nulay – Long time living here* Pēteris VASKS Pater noster (Our Father) Maria LOPES My Life Flows On* Stuart GREENBAUM The Night that the Museum Burned** VASKS Dona nobis pacem (Grant us peace) VASKS Missa (Mass)
* Commissioned for our 100 Minutes of New Australian Music project
**Premiere
This performance will run for approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes, including one 20-minute interval.
ARTISTS
Brett Weymark conductor Chamber Singers VOX Sydney Philharmonia String Ensemble
TICKETS
Premium $70 (Limited number of seats) General Admission $60
A booking fee of $8.50 per transaction applies.
“The choir and orchestra were in magnificent form…” – Stephen Moffatt, Limelight Magazine. Accessed July 12, 2022. Grant Us Peace: Music of Vasks (Sydney Philharmonia Choirs). Accessed July 12, 2022.
“Let’s hope there is more of this to come from Brett Weymark and the
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs…" – P. Neeson, Eastside 89.7 FM. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs at St. Andrews Cathedral: The Sydney Philharmoania Choirs performs the sacred music of Peteris Vasks. Reviewed by Paul Neeson. posted 10/07/2022. EastSide89.7 FM. Accessed July 11, 2022.
“Such a treat to hear great music in this stunning cathedral.” – Annabelle Drumm, Sydney Arts Guide. SYDNEY PHILHARMONIA CHOIRS : GRANT US PEACE : MUSIC OF VASKS. Accessed July 12, 2022.
Resources:
2022 Season Together Again. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Artistic & Music Director Brett Weymark, OAM
Pēteris Vasks. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pēteris_Vasks. Accessed June 18, 2022.
COVID-19 SAFETY
All SPC singers, musicians and staff are double vaccinated.
Audiences will be required to wear masks throughout the performance. If this changes we will inform patrons as soon as possible.
Hand sanitiser will be available.
A digital program book will be available on this page a week prior
to the concert. A limited number of printed program books will be
available for $5 each at the concert.
A once-in-a-generation-show". The first time that any British monarch has celebrated a platinum jubilee. At the time of this Jubilee, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the third-longest reigning verified sovereign monarch in history.
The Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, marking 70 years on the throne, is being celebrated in 2022 in the Commonwealth of Nations to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. She rose to the throne in 1952 at the
age of 25 upon the death of her father King George VI. Per TIME’s Feb. 18, 1952, story on the transition of power, “as British officers, for the first time in 51 years, directed their wardroom and regimental toasts ‘to the Queen’ instead of ‘to the King,’ Britons felt in their bones that Elizabeth will be good for them.” In her honour, there will be numerous celebrations and a four-day bank holiday from June 2 to June 5.
In the United Kingdom, there was an extra bank holiday on 3 June, and the usual Spring bank holiday was moved from the end of May to 2 June, to create a four-day Jubilee bank holiday weekend from Thursday 2 June to Sunday 5 June. The British government has promised a "once-in-a-generation show" that will "mix the best of British ceremonial splendour and pageantry with cutting-edge artistic and technological displays".
Queen Elizabeth is the world’s third longest ruling monarch, at least in modern history. She is two years away from becoming the longest reigning monarch in Europe. The current record-holder for longest-reigning monarch is French King Louis XIV, who ruled as an absolute monarch for approximately 72 years from 1643-1715, beginning when he was about four years old.
“She’s become the longest-reigning monarch in British and Commonwealth history,” as Carolyn Harris, historian and author of Raising Royalty: 1000 Years of Royal Parenting, puts this milestone in context. The previous record-holder was Queen Elizabeth’s great-great grandmother Queen Victoria, who ruled for about 64 years from 1837 to 1901 and was known for being a trendsetter.
The Queen Makes Surprise Appearance as Jubilee Pageant Ends.
Queen Elizabeth II lights principal beacon as ceremonies take place across the Commonwealth.
Queen Elizabeth is the world’s third longest ruling monarch, at least in modern history. She is two years away from becoming the longest reigning monarch in Europe. The current record-holder for longest-reigning monarch is French King Louis XIV, who ruled as an absolute monarch for approximately 72 years from 1643-1715, beginning when he was about four years old. Based out of his palace in Versailles, he engaged in three wars and was a staunch patron of the arts, supporting writers like Molière during a period nicknamed “Le Grand Siècle” “the Great Century.” After Louis XIV, the next longest reigning monarch is Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), who was on the throne for about 70 years from 1946 until his death in 2016.
Initiatives to commemorate the Jubilee were also announced by the governments of other Commonwealth nations and territories, including Australia, Canada, Cayman Islands, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea.
1. Australia Celebrates the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. www.pm.gov.au. Accessed June 1, 2022. (The Australian Jubilee events were kicked off by the new prime minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday when he lit a beacon to the Queen in the country's capital, Canberra. It is one of more than 2,000 beacons lit around the UK and Commonwealth for the Jubilee and symbolically led by the Queen, who lit the Buckingham Palace beacon.)
2. Elizabeth II. en.wikipedia.org. Accessed June 1, 2022.
Date:Sunday 22 May 2022, 3pm Venue: Sydney Town Hall
Image credit: Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
The last time Sydney Philharmonia's Festival Chorus performed was in
September 2019. Now, as they come together for the first time in nearly
two years, they're putting the “festive” back into Festival with a
magnificent and uplifting program guaranteed to put a smile on every
face.
Organist David Drury. Image Credit: Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
There’s nothing restrained about this program.
Handel’s four Coronation Anthems, commissioned personally by George
II, are in the grand ceremonial style – majestic music capturing all the
pomp and splendour of the occasion. Haydn’s Nelson Mass is
remarkable for its boldness and rich dramatic power. And Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Festival Chorus bring the
celebratory spirit into the present with three new orchestral interludes
commissioned from emerging Sydney composers. Sublime!
PROGRAM
George Frideric HANDEL The King Shall Rejoice Tomas PARRISH-CHYNOWETH The Fractured Crown* HANDEL Zadok the Priest Aidan Charles ROSA Ineffable* HANDEL Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened Aija DRAGUNS Lavender Paper Cranes* HANDEL My Heart is Inditing Joseph HAYDN Missa in angustiis, Hob.XXII:11 (Nelson Mass)
* Premiere
This performance will run for approximately 2 hours, including one 20-minute interval.
Top: Penelope Mills, soprano; Russell Harcourt, countertenor
Below: Louis Hurley, tenor; Christopher Richardson, bass-baritone. Image Credit: Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
ARTISTS
Brett Weymark conductor Penelope Millssoprano Russell Harcourtcountertenor Louis Hurleytenor Christopher Richardsonbass-baritone Festival Chorus Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra
TICKETS
Premium $112 | A $101 | B $79 | C $58 Concessions: Premium $101 | A $90| B $71 | C $52
A booking fee of $8.50 per transaction applies.
Reviews:
Will be provided as available.
Resources:
2022 Season Together Again. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Artistic & Music Director Brett Weymark, OAM
All SPC singers, musicians and staff are double vaccinated.
Audiences will be required to wear masks throughout the performance. If this changes we will inform patrons as soon as possible.
Hand sanitiser will be available.
A digital program book will be available on this page a week prior
to the concert. A limited number of printed program books will be
available for $5 each at the concert.
Date: Saturday 16 April 2022, 3pm Venue: Sydney Town Hall
What would be your “desert island” Bach?
At Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, they would nominate his Mass in B minor. In just under two hours, this astonishing choral work does it all. On the one hand, it’s a literal portfolio of Bach’s tremendous musical accomplishment – a virtuoso display of style and taste, from the academic to the fashionable, wonderfully varied and yet completely coherent. Easily the most impressive job application in the history of music. Bach collated many of his finest vocal and orchestral styles and examples from across his lifetime: it’s like a sublime “best-of album” from 300 years ago.
When Bach eventually completed the Mass in B minor, he signed it “D.S.G.” – Deo Soli Gloria, the Latin term for Latin term forGlory to God alone. This music was a celebration of an ancient liturgical tradition – an ecumenical setting of the Latin Mass by a deeply devout Lutheran inspired to the glory of God alone.
It was also completely impractical: too long for use in church and calling for brilliant musicians – it’s as if every singer and instrumentalist has a solo part to play. But that’s exactly what makes it so satisfying in the concert hall. In her first concert as Associate Music Director, Dr. Elizabeth Scott will conduct the beautiful voices of SPC's Chamber Singers and young adult choir, VOX – a precision ensemble of singers – accompanied by their own 42-piece Baroque period instrument orchestra, four of Australia's best soloists, for a virtuoso performance to do justice to Bach’s supreme musical craft and spiritual inspiration.
Video Credit: Keith Saunders, Michael Bradfield, Robert Catto & Rebecca Sawyer.
PROGRAM
Deborah CHEETHAM & Matthew DOYLE Tarimi Nulay – Long time living here*
Johann Sebastian BACH Mass in B minor, BWV 232
* Commissioned for our 100 Minutes of New Australian Music project.
This performance will run for approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, including one 20-minute interval.
Dr. Elizabeth Scott, Conductor
Top: Celeste Lazarenko, soprano; Anna Dowsley, mezzo-soprano
Below: Jonathan Abernethy, tenor; Simon Lobelson, baritone.
ARTISTS
Elizabeth Scott conductor Celeste Lazarenkosoprano Anna Dowsleymezzo-soprano Jonathan Abernethytenor Simon Lobelsonbaritone Chamber Singers VOX Sydney Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
Composed over the course of 16 years, Bach's B Minor Mass is a
compendium of every aspect of Bach’s genius and a profound testament of his faith.
Johann Sebastian Bach was a deeply religious man. On July 28, 1750, less than a year after completing B-minor
Mass, he died in Leipzig, due to complications from treatment
following eye surgery. His body in a humble oak casket was buried in a
site unmarked until the mid-19th century. Mozart found revelation in
Bach's work reflected in the younger composer's famous unfinished Requiem. But
it was not until 1829, during Mendelssohn's revival of Bach's work, in
particular, Mendelssohn’s momentous performance of the St. Matthew Passion
that secured Bach’s place in history.
Bach's Mass was published in 1845,
nearly 100 years after the composer's death. Complete performances followed in
Europe. Bach's B-minor Mass is a masterful combination of sublimity and
profundity.
All SPC singers, musicians and staff are double vaccinated.
Audiences will be required to show proof of double vaccination upon entry to the Sydney Town Hall.
Audiences will be required to wear masks throughout the performance. If this changes we will inform patrons as soon as possible.
Hand sanitiser will be available.
A digital program book will be available on this page a week prior
to the concert. A limited number of printed program books will be
available for $5 each at the concert.
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs present: MOZART Requiem & Revelations
Saturday, 19 March 2022, 3pm Sydney Town Hall
Photo Credit: Robert Catto
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem is legendary in more ways than one.
Even setting aside the popular fictions, there’s something deeply moving
in the idea of a composer striving on his deathbed to finish his last
creation, breaking off just a few lines into the heartbreaking lament of
the Lacrimosa. And of his widow handing the music over to a
student so it could be completed for the “mystery” client. It’s a
well-known story – as familiar to music-lovers as the music itself.
Which is why Brett Weymark wants us to hear it with
fresh ears. Mozart would have expected to hear his Requiem in church,
with chanting and ceremonial business between the musical numbers. In
this program, Brett has created a kind of “liturgy” for the concert
hall, interweaving the sections of the Requiem with music from
throughout Mozart’s life – musical gems that hint at what was to come.
Some you’ll probably recognise (the Ave verum
corpus), some may seem oddly familiar (a gorgeous choral adaptation of
the Adagio from the Gran Partita), others will sound intriguingly new.
Together they amplify the beauty and drama of Mozart’s ultimate
masterwork in a musical revelation.
And in Dolor ultimæ melodiæ (Grief of the last song),Jessica Wells creates a meditation on the “Amen” of the Lacrimosa – picking up with a contemporary voice from the point where Mozart left off.
Clockwise from top left: Soprano Chloe Lankshear, Mezzo-soprano Sally-Anne Russell, Bass David Greco and Tenor Andrew Goodwin.
Photo credit: SPC
Sydney composer Jessica Wells
Photo Credit: Steven Godbee
PROGRAM
Deborah CHEETHAM & Matthew DOYLE Tarimi Nulay – Long time living here*
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART Requiem (Süssmayr completion) interleaved with… Masonic Funeral Music, K.477
Miserere mei (Kyrie, K.90)
Ne pulvis et cini, K.Anh.122 (based on a chorus from Thamos, King of Egypt)
Solfeggio No.2 (Adagio), K.393
Quis te comprehendat, K.Anh. 110 (based on the Adagio from the Gran Partita, K.361)
O Gottes Lamm (from 2 Sacred Hymns, K.343)
Ave verum corpus, K.618
Laudate Dominum (from Solemn Vespers for a Confessor, K.339) and traditional plainchants from the Mass for the Dead Jessica WELLS Dolor ultimæ melodiæ**
* Commissioned for our 100 Minutes of New Australian Music project
**Premiere
ARTISTS
Brett Weymark conductor Chloe Lankshearsoprano Sally-Anne Russellmezzo-soprano Andrew Goodwintenor David Grecobass Symphony Chorus Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra
This program will be approximately 1 hour 40 minutes. No interval.
TICKETS
Premium $112 | A $92 | B $71 | C $50
Concessions $101 | A $83| B $64 | C $45
A booking fee of $8.50 per transaction applies.
Mozart Requiem and Revelations (Sydney Philharmonia Choirs). This "Requiem of the Imagination", featuring
Mozart and new music by Jessica Wells, was a superb concert eliciting
excitement and joy. Limelight Magazine, by Steve Moffatt. Reviewed 19 March 2022. Accessed 24 Mrch 2022.
2022 Season Together Again. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.
"Beyond the Requiem with Brett Weymark and Jessica Wells". A conductor and composer map out a journey through Mozart's final masterpiece for Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Limelight Magazine. By
Clive Paget
on
11 March, 2022. Accessed March 11, 2022.
All SPC singers, musicians and staff are double vaccinated.
Audiences will be required to QR code and show proof of double vaccination upon entry to the Sydney Town Hall.
Audiences will be required to wear masks throughout the performance. If this changes we will inform patrons as soon as possible.
Hand sanitiser will be available.
A digital program book will be available on this page a week prior
to the concert. A limited number of printed program books will be available for $5 each at the concert.
.JPG)
